For All Seasons

I tend to be a bit fanatical about fresh, locally-grown tomatoes. So much so that I refuse to eat tomatoes out of season — I’d rather eat cardboard. But there’s an exception to my fanaticism. I have no objection to long-cooked tomato sauces made with canned tomatoes. This may seem contradictory but in fact it’s not.

Canned tomatoes are picked at the height of freshness and seldom shipped more than a few miles before they’re canned. So despite the fact they’re canned they’re much closer to fresh than some poor misbegotten fruit that was picked green, doused in ethylene gas to turn it red, and then spent two weeks in warehouses and trucks on it’s way to a grocery store here. And if you’re going to cook the tomatoes more than briefly anyway, then canned tomatoes are a perfectly delicious alternative.

I’ve gotten in the habit of making larger batches of tomato sauce than I need and freezing the extra sauce. It can be thawed quickly in the microwave and it’s far better than anything I’ve ever had from a store. When fresh tomatoes are in season I take advantage of their freshness and seldom do anything more violent than a quick sauté.

Canned Tomato Sauce

1 can tomatoes — 28 oz can, diced
1 ea carrot — peeled and diced
1 ea celery stalk — peeled and diced
1 ea sm. onion — diced
4 ea garlic cloves — peeled and chopped
2 tsp dried Italian herb mix
2 ea bay leaves
3 tbsps olive oil
1/2 c white wine
2 tbsp anchovy paste
3 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent — about ten minutes.

Increase heat to medium, add wine, and reduce by half. Add tomatoes, anchovy paste, and tomato paste and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour — stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings. (If too sweet, add a bit of sherry vinegar, if too acid add a bit of sugar.)

Allow sauce to cool and then puree in a blender.

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